How can our ears decide which pitch a sound is, if it has a lot of overtones?

1. What determines which overtone will be loudest?
2. How does adding a harmonic change the sound?
3. How do overtones affect timbre?
4. Why do overtones occur?

What determines which overtone will be loudest?

The number and loudness of overtones determine the timbre, or tone color, of a musical sound. ... Vibrating in thirds, the string produces a sound with three times the fundamental frequency. This second overtone, or third harmonic, is one octave plus five whole tones higher than the fundamental.

How does adding a harmonic change the sound?

If add harmonics to the fundamental, we change the shape of the wave, but not its pitch, so this gives us a way of independently controlling the tone quality without affecting the pitch.

How do overtones affect timbre?

The timbre of an instrument is determined by which overtones it emphasizes. That is to say, the relative volumes of these overtones to each other determines the specific "flavor", "color" or "tone" of sound of that family of instruments.

Why do overtones occur?

Overtone, in acoustics, tone sounding above the fundamental tone when a string or air column vibrates as a whole, producing the fundamental, or first harmonic. If it vibrates in sections, it produces overtones, or harmonics.